UNJUSTIFIED RAIDS ABUSE STUDENTS' RIGHTS

Re: High school drug searches show respect for students, JUNE 18.

It is difficult to understand how the police action at Immaculata High
School garners any public support. I am amazed at some readers' lack of
understanding of our rights and freedoms.

Such hard-earned values are seldom lost at the hand of some invading
despot, but most frequently to the whims of citizens who deem it
appropriate to trade security for rights.

This generally starts with confiscating those of our least powerful
citizens, in this case students.

If we allow police officers to detain children, conduct random interviews
and search private property without grounds, how can we distinguish this
behaviour from that of a police state? This is how it starts.

The point is somehow missed because the actions do not happen to people
like us. Suppose that police officers randomly selected a city block to
shut down, confined us to our houses for a few hours and searched our
garages. This would certainly aid police in curtailing neighbourhood crime
but would surely be wrong.

Such behaviour by police and educational authorities at a high school is
equally wrong.

We certainly need to control the illegal activities that were the target of
this incident, but let's not take the easy way out. Let's protect our
children while teaching them the true meaning of freedom -- it is worth it.

Rights and freedoms are not owned, rather they are rented with the blood of
our parents and grandparents. This is simply too great a cost to be so
easily given up in the name of controlling the actions of a minority of
students.

It particularly galls that education authorities should approve of these
actions. Should we expect the next generation of adults simply to accept
incremental losses of freedoms and rights? If so, we sentence our children
to the losses and hardship necessary to regain the rights some would so
readily give up.

Gary Vickers,

Ottawa